This great news! Paula Abdul’s newest single “I’m Just Here for the Music” has made it to #87 on the Billboard Hot 100!! That’s fantastic! Especially for someone who hasn’t released a solo album in almost 14 years!
Last year, after 13 years of not being on the charts, Paula’s song, “Dance Like There’s No Tomorrow” made it to #80 on the charts. Paula premiered “I’m Just Here for the Music” on American Idol on May 6th and wowed the crowd as she…well…danced like there was no tomorrow.
Good for her! That’s great to hear!
Image: Bauer-Griffin

Here’s a breakdown of how our favorite American Idol alumni are doing on theBillboard 200 (dated May 26, 2007 – if the album appears on another chart it will be in brackets):

Chris Daughtry — #6
Carrie Underwood — #8 (#1 Country)
Bucky Covington — #44 (#9 Country)
Elliott Yamin — #67 (up from #87) (#4 Independent) (#49 R&B/Hip-Hop)
Fantasia — #93 (up from #112) (#15 R&B/Hip-Hop)
Paris Bennett — #133 (#15 Independent) (#47 R&B/Hip-Hop)

Also Noteworthy:
Kellie Pickler — #121 (2 weeks ago)
Katharine McPhee — #156 (2 weeks ago)
Kimberley Locke — #160 (2 weeks ago) — 4,800 copies
Paula Abdul “Greatest Hits” — (#86 R&B/Hip-Hop)
Kelly Clarkson’s “Never Again” …read more

American Idol season 5 contestant Paris Bennett has debuted on the Billboard charts. She’s #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart with her first album, “Princess P.” Paris is the 27th “Idol” singer to appear on the Billboard charts, and by capturing pole position, she gives the franchise its 122nd No. 1, counting all national, domestic charts compiled by the Billboard Information Group. The album is also on the Billboard 200 (#133) and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (#47).
“Bennett’s chart debut means that the season five contestants have now tied the finalists from season three for having the highest number …read more

Carried has had a busy end-of-the-year sprint for her singing career.
Underwood was noticeably drained of energy, and understandably so, considering the eventful week she’d had: In addition to winning five Billboard Awards three nights earlier in Las Vegas, the singer also performed for the President at the Kennedy Center Honors, taped an episode of “Oprah” with Tony Bennett and received multiple Grammy nods. “I’m so glad I didn’t take my mom to that,” Underwood said of the Billboard Awards. “Not a lot of country folk there.”
She was in concert earlier this month with Brad Paisley in Missouri.
In light of her …read more

Fantasia Barrino, American Idol winner on Season 3 has snagged a number of hip-hop stars to help her on her sophomore album release entitled, “Fantasia”.
R&B vocalist Fantasia will return Dec. 12 with her self-titled sophomore album, due via J/19. The disc boasts collaborations with producers Missy Elliott, Swizz Beatz and Babyface, as well as songwriters Diane Warren and Sean Garrett, among others.
Lead single “Hood Boy” featuring Big Boi of OutKast was produced by Tone Mason and written by singer/songwriter Johnta Austin.
Source: Billboard – Fantasia Ropes in Big Boi, Missy for Second Disc

Ruben Studdard’s 2nd album “The Return” now has more details available.
Affable “American Idol” winner Ruben Studdard loads his sophomore disc, “The Return,” with smooth grooves and standard R&B tracks—but no standouts. For the most part, his vocal performances, often likened to late legend Luther Vandross, are flat and not as stunning as expected. Though his 2004 debut “Soulful” bowed atop The Billboard 200, it was mostly on the strength of his popularity on “Idol,” where he dazzled all with his melodic crooning. Here the stout singer seems to phone in his vocals on tracks like “Our Story” and “Get U …read more

Kellie Pickler has an album scheduled for release October 31st called “Small Town Girl”. One song from the album, “Red High Heels” is currently #41 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
“I’ve just tried to put a piece of my life in each one of the songs to kind of make the listeners feel like I’m singing to them,” she says. “‘American Idol’ showcased a lot of my personality and a lot about my family, but there’s so much that ‘Idol’ didn’t reveal about my life. So with this album I’m trying to let everyone know who I am. It’s a …read more